2:
22
-40

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord 2025

by | 31 January 2025

“Growing in wisdom, age, and grace…” 

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Do you think people can really change, I mean really change?” This was the question that someone asked me in a conversation recently. We were discussing our work, and she was describing how resistant she finds people in her organization to new ways of thinking, relating, or managing their responsibilities. But the deeper question she was asking was about whether I believed that adults in their 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s could continue to learn, mature, and adapt as they got older. I’m curious what you think.

In the Gospel for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Luke 2: 22-40, we hear a phrase that is repeated in several passages throughout the Scriptures: “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of the Lord was upon him.” Of course, in this passage, we are contemplating how Jesus matured in his human/nature. Naturally, he developed as a boy would, learning, growing in size, but also intellectually and affectively. And he matured in grace, as the Holy Spirit instilled in him the wisdom, compassion, and will of his Father. 

While there are so many other dimensions of this passage that are worth consideration and contemplation, I want to focus on this matter of how Jesus matured in wisdom, age, and grace, and what it means for each of us. And not Jesus alone, because in this same passage, we have the examples of both Simeon and Anna as well, these models of devotion, spiritual maturity, and hope for the future, who each shared prophetic reflections on the occasion of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple.

We know that as we age from birth, into our youth, adolescence, and young adulthood, we develop through stages of physical, intellectual, and emotional growth. Any of us who are parents or have witnessed children grow know from experience what a marvelous and often mysterious process this is. 
But what about adults? Do we believe that adults can continue to learn, mature, and continue to grow in grace? And if we don’t believe this, what might this mean for us and for the way we relate to others? I am thinking in particular of the implications of this for those of us with roles and responsibilities of leadership.

In my education in the fields of adult learning, development, and leadership, I can say with confidence that under the right conditions, I know that adults can and do mature in wisdom, age, and grace. And unfortunately, I also know that without such conditions, adults can also continue to age, but become closed off to life, withering in fixed attitudes and familiar but dry routines. I’m sure you know people in your own life who provide examples of each- those who keep growing until the day they die, and those who somehow get stuck along the way. 

I know that for most of us, the potential for our ongoing vitality and maturation require a combination of support and challenge in good proportion, and the loyalty of long term loving relationships that provide the context for our growth over time. Without enough support, when challenges are too great, we can get stuck or even regress. With too much comfort and not enough challenge to keep us engaged, adapting, trying new things, we stagnate.

As people with responsibilities for leadership, the belief in our capacity to continue learning, maturing in wisdom, and deepening our life in God’s grace, not only supports our journey as we age, but it has vital implications for the way we support the learning and growth of others. How do we see our lives?  As a learning journey, accompanied by God in a process of spiritual maturation in wisdom, compassion, and  faithful service? If so, how does this enrich not only our lives, but also the way in which we support, challenge, and accompany others on their journeys?

With you on the road,

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